(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Israel is on “high alert” for possible retaliation attacks following an Israeli airstrike in Syria that killed six members of Hezbollah and an Iranian general.
Israeli defense officials say they increased security measures on Wednesday, beefing up its air defenses and closing a number of roads after receiving reports of “suspected infiltration by a number of militants,” according to Beirut-based newspaper, An-Nahar.
Al-Arabiya Television reports the five suspected infiltrators “vanished” when the Israeli army arrived near the area.
According to Israel’s Jerusalem Post, suspicious activity was no longer reported and most roadways had been reopened.
Israel was already on high alert over possible retaliation by Hezbollah, after the unprecedented Israeli airstrike killed senior commander Mohammed Issa and Jihad Mughniyeh, a son of Hezbollah’s top military commander Imad Mughniyeh who was killed in a 2008 assassination in Damascus.
Top Iranian general Mohammad Ali Allahdadi was also among the victims of the Quneitra strike on Sunday.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group reserves the right to retaliate for attacks provoked by Israel. He also says the group may retaliate at any time for the assassination of Mughniyeh.
On Tuesday, thousands of Hezbollah supporters swarmed the coffin of the highest-ranking commander killed among the group. Media reports say around 10,000 supporters took part in his funeral in the southern Lebanese village of Arabsalim.